Colony 5

Within the next few days you release your CDS 'Plastic World' where you have collaboration with Håkan Lidbo. Tell us more about this single.
Kalnins: - "We were looking for an extern remixer to get a little wither spread and in front of all get a more radio adjusted version of Plastic World and when Håkan Lidbo's name got mention as a possibility we took the chance without hesitation. He's really great in what he does and I like his stuff. I have even done a video to his project Industrial Cool even though if his contribution were truly much greater than my contribution to he was."

Soon you will release your next full-length album 'Fixed', of course we are all curious about this release. Tell us more about what we could expect and more about the work behind this record.
P-O: - "On this album we have worked a little bit different than we did on Structures. Instead of strive towards a levelled album we tried to keep the feeling we had when we did our demo songs and just made the sound a little bit better."
Kalnins: -"In short, we followed our instincts more; let our hearts be in control."

The B-side "A Test" from your latest single has a little bit more pressure than you normally would have expected from Colony 5 and even touches the beats from more lighter, modern EBM. Could we expect more similar material from you in the future?
P-O: - "It's not impossible. I'm very pleased with the track so it will probably be heavier tracks in the future."
Kalnins: - "We have backgrounds in both extreme heavy EBM and industrial as well as poppy childish electro, to us there's no news. Even the track Science on Colonisation is a step in that direction."

How come Johan left the band and how does it work out for you to be just the two of you?
Kalnins: - "Johan choose to leave the band after a half year consideration. He felt that he didn't have the time for C5 in his life. The fact that we're just the two of us might keep the pace at the stage down a little bit. But there isn't much of a choice to make to choose between the two of us or two have a third part at the stage and he doesn't want to be there. The advantage is though that it's much easier to travel longer distances since we now have cheaper costs for our travels and we have more room to bring friends along to help us with some practical details, like recording videos a little bit often than before."

The lyrical quality have increased allot on your latest releases. Have part of the writing of the lyrics been replaced or do have you won some experience during the years?
Kalnins: - "We have never had a recipe to go by when we have written the lyrics, just alike the making of the musical part it's hard to say if the way to work have changed since there never been a structure to change. We both write some parts most of the time. I think it's more that a better communication has grown between P-O and me and that we have become better to take care of each others talents."

The design for your three latest releases is very connected, has a very similar style and is really good looking. Tell us more about the design and the background behind them.
Kalnins: - "We needed a real and similar style, a concept to work after. We contacted an old friend (Fredrik Dogertz is his name by the way) who's just finished his studies at the internationally recognized collage Hyper Island. He got some suggestions and we got to know each other and he really got to know us and what we were searching for. So after the great cover (but unfortunately with print errors) for the Black single we continued to work with him. It's very important to have a clear profile to work with, just like it is for any company. Further than that he is truly great to do things with small means and we really like to work with stylistically designs. It's also he who has done our homepage and most of the other things with our nametag."

It usually pops up some Colony 5-remixes every now and then. What's the latest?
P-O: - "The latest we've done is a remix for Head-less, a new German band. Further than that we have done a cover on Camouflage's "The great commandment" as a tribute and it will be released by Synthphony Records."
Kalnins: - "A project of my dreams."

This interview was made 2005 and initially published on Neurozine.com